Intimate partners are an important source of support when pursuing health goals. A vast amount of literature documents the role of social support in alleviating recipients’ distress and facilitating health behaviors. Less studied is the phenomenon that providing support may entail a benefit for the provider, particularly in the context of health behavior change. In the present study, we investigated whether providing social support in daily life would be associated with more health behavior, and emotional and relational well-being that same (...) day, using a sample of romantic couples aiming to become more physically active. Ninety-nine inactive and overweight heterosexual romantic couples (=198 individuals) participated in this dyadic daily diary study. Both partners reported on the provision of social support, positive and negative affect, and relationship satisfaction in electronic end-of-day diaries across 14 consecutive days. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was objectively assessed via triaxial accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X+). Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), dyadic data analyses indicated that providing support to the partner was associated with higher own MVPA, more own positive affect, less own negative affect, and more own relationship satisfaction (actor effects), over and above the effect of support provision on outcomes in the other partner (partner effects). The present findings suggest that the provision of daily social support in couples is strongly associated with enhanced well-being not only at a personal level but also at a relational level. Providing social support may also serve the function of relationship maintenance. Thus, shifting the focus away from the recipient to examine beneficial effects of social support in providers is highly relevant. Future research should address the question of when, why, and how giving support is beneficial. (shrink)

Under the label of scientific metaphysics, many naturalist metaphysicians are moving away from a priori conceptual analysis and instead seek scientific explanations that will help bring forward a unified understanding of the world. This paper first reviews how our classical assumptions about ordinary objects fail to be true in light of quantum mechanics. The paper then explores how our experiences of ordinary objects arise by reflecting on how our neural system operates algorithmically. Contemporary models and simulations in computational neuroscience are (...) shown to provide a theoretical framework that does not conflict with existing fundamental physical theories, and nonetheless helps us make sense of the manifest image. It is argued that we must largely explain how the manifest image arises in algorithmic terms, so that we can pursue a metaphysics about ordinary objects that is scientifically well founded. (shrink)

Block’s, 5–43 1981) anti-behaviourist attack of the Turing Test not only illustrates that the test is a non-sufficient criterion for attributing thought; I suggest that it also exemplifies the limiting case of the more general concern that a machine which has access to enormous amounts of data can pass the Turing Test by simple symbol-manipulation techniques. If the answers to a human interrogator are entailed by the machines’ data, the Turing Test offers no clear criterion to distinguish between a thinking (...) machine and a machine that merely manipulates representations of words and sentences as it is found in contemporary Natural Language Processing models. This paper argues that properties about vagueness are accessible to any human-like thinker but do not normally display themselves in ordinary language use. Therefore, a machine that merely performs simple symbol manipulation from large amounts of previously acquired data – where this body of data does not contain facts about vagueness – will not be able to report on these properties. Conversely, a machine that has the capacity to think would be able to report on these properties. I argue that we can exploit this fact to establish a sufficient criterion of thought. The criterion is a specification of some of the questions that, as I explain, should be asked by the interrogator in a Turing Test situation. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to separately analyze the role of featural and configural face representations. Stimuli containing only featural information were created by cutting the faces into their parts and scrambling them. Stimuli only containing configural information were created by blurring the faces. Employing an old‐new recognition task, the aim of Experiments 1 and 2 was to investigate whether unfamiliar faces (Exp. 1) or familiar faces (Exp. 2) can be recognized if only featural or configural information is provided. (...) Both scrambled and blurred faces could be recognized above chance level. A further aim of Experiments 1 and 2 was to investigate whether our method of creating configural and featural stimuli is valid. Pre‐activation of one form of representation did not facilitate recognition of the other, neither for unfamiliar faces (Exp. 1) nor for familiar faces (Exp. 2). This indicates a high internal validity of our method for creating configural and featural face stimuli. Experiment 3 examined whether features placed in their correct categorical relational position but with distorted metrical distances facilitated recognition of unfamiliar faces. These faces were recognized no better than the scrambled faces in Experiment 1, providing further evidence that facial features are stored independently of configural information. From these results we conclude that both featural and configural information are important to recognize a face and argue for a dual‐mode hypothesis of face processing. Using the psychophysical results as motivation, we propose a computational framework that implements featural and configural processing routes using an appearance‐based representation based on local features and their spatial relations. In three computational experiments (Experiments 4–6) using the same sets of stimuli, we show how this framework is able to model the psychophysical data. (shrink)

The growing threat of terrorism has increased the importance of aviation security and the work of airport security officers (screeners). Nonetheless, airport security research has yet to focus on emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction as major determinants of screeners’ job performance. The present study bridges this research gap by applying the job demands–resources (JD−R) model and using work–family conflict (WFC) as an intervening variable to study relationships between work characteristics (workload and supervisor support), emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction in 1,127 (...) screeners at a European airport. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that (a) supervisor support as a major job resource predicted job satisfaction among screeners; (b) workload as a major job demand predicted their emotional exhaustion; and (c) WFC proved to be a promising extension to the JD–R model that partially mediated the impact of supervisor support and workload on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

Ordinary objects are experienced to endure over space and time, to not be collocated with each other, to be composed of proper parts, and to survive the loss of some of their parts. These qualities are on the one hand difficult to reconcile for theorists of perception and on the other hand pose a variety of problems when considered in isolation. Relying on the theoretical framework of predictive processing, this paper argues that we can use the category of a robust (...) predictive process to conceptualize qualities such as persistence and compositionality in a unified manner. Traditional problems concerning the structural properties of ordinary objects, such as the question of when two objects compose, can then be reformulated using this new category. (shrink)

Solar radiation management (SRM) may help to reduce the negative outcomes of climate change by minimising or reversing global warming. However, many express the worry that SRM may pose a moral hazard, i.e., that information about SRM may lead to a reduction in climate change mitigation efforts. In this paper, we report a large-scale preregistered, money-incentivised, online experiment with a representative US sample (N = 2284). We compare actual behaviour (donations to climate change charities and clicks on climate change petition (...) links) as well as stated preferences (support for a carbon tax and self-reported intentions to reduce emissions) between participants who receive information about SRM with two control groups (a salience control that includes information about climate change generally and a content control that includes information about a different topic). Behavioural choices are made with an earned real-money endowment, and stated preference responses are incentivised via the Bayesian Truth Serum. We fail to find a significant impact of receiving information about SRM and, based on equivalence tests, we provide evidence in favour of the absence of a meaningfully large effect. Our results thus provide evidence for the claim that there is no detectable moral hazard with respect to SRM. [Open access]. (shrink)

Quelle politique peut-on faire quand on est un idiot? Loin d'être saugrenue, c'est bien la question qu'on est conduit à se poser inévitablement en lisant l'oeuvre de Gilles Deleuze. L'"idiot" joue, en effet, un rôle incontournable et essentiel dans la philosophie de Deleuze. Il est le personnage conceptuel qui fait tenir cette philosophie dans sa consistance propre. Il se situe à la charnière de l'image de la pensée que le philosophe invoque et suppose plus ou moins implicitement et de la (...) création de concepts qu'il produit explicitement. Aussi, faire de la philosophie, tout comme agir et penser politiquement, c'est toujours une manière de faire l'idiot. Les conséquences de cette approche sont capitales, du fait des questions posées à la réflexion politique classique centrée sur le Droit et l'Etat, du fait aussi des problématiques qui se voient invalidées dans ce champ. La place qui revient au contrôle et au bio-pouvoir, aux zones d'indétermination et aux espaces lisses, permet de prendre une saine distance vis-à-vis de la politique "majoritaire" et de faire apparaître, comme déjà de vieux clichés, bon nombre de thèmes et de concepts revendiqués par les organisations alternatives, mondialistes et subversives récentes. C'est une tout autre idée de la politique, centrée sur les devenirs, que nous invite à méditer la politique deleuzienne de l'idiot. Elle nous ouvre à d'autres espérances, nouvelles, en lien avec un "peuple absent" qui naîtrait avec chaque devenir. (shrink)

Animal research suggests that central serotonergic neurons are involved in behavioral suppression, particularly anxiety-related inhibition. The hypothesis linking decreased serotonin transmission to reduced anxiety as the mechanism in the anxiolytic activity of benzodiazepines conflicts with most clinical observations. Serotonin antagonists show no marked capacity to alleviate anxiety. On the other hand, clinical signs of reduced serotonergic transmission (low 5-HIAA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid) are frequently associated with aggressiveness, suicide attempts, and increased anxiety. The target article attempts to reconcile such (...) human and animal findings by investigating whether anxiety reduction or increased impulsivity is more Likely to account for animal behavioral changes associated with decreased serotonergic transmission. The effects of manipulating central serotonin in experimental anxiety paradigms in animals (punishment, extinction, novelty) are reviewed and compared with the effects of antianxiety drugs. Anxiety seems neither necessary nor sufficient to induce control by serotonergic neurons on behavior. Further evidence suggests that behavioral effects of anxiolytics thought to be mediated by decreases in anxiety are not caused by the ability of these drugs to reduce serotonin transmission. Blockade of serotonin transmission, especially at the level of the substantia nigra, results in a shift of behavior toward facilitation of responding. This behavioral shift is particularly marked when there is competition between acting and restraining response tendencies and when obstacles prevent the immediate attainment of an anticipated reward. It is proposed that serotonergic neurons are involved not only in behavioral arousal but also in enabling the organism to arrange or tolerate delay before acting. Decreases in serotonin transmission seem to be associated with the increased performance of behaviors that are usually suppressed, though not necessarily because of the alleviation of anxiety, which might contribute to the suppression. (shrink)

This chapter contains section titled: I The Extended Auction II Working in the Peep Show, Flirting in the Square III Insurance Behind a Veil of Ignorance IV Dworkin's Hybrid Scheme V Four Objections to Dworkin VI Ackerman Generalized VII Not Enough Redistribution? VIII Too Much Redistribution? Acknowledgement.

The conception of social justice presented and defended in Philippe Van Parijs, "Real Freedom for All" entails, among other implication, the justification of an unconditional basic income. It was the subject of seven critical comments that forms issue 22 and part of 23 of ANALYSE & KRITIK. In this article, Van Parijs offers a comprehensive reply.

An introduction to semantics for the general reader. How things mean, from animal communication to music.

Dans La Volonté de savoir, Foucault écrit : "Là où il y a pouvoir, il y a résistance".

We want to highlight the strong link between learning systems such as deep learning neural networks and neutrosophy. The latter is above all a representation considering a neutral state which is at the heart of many phenomena of reality as well as mathematical and information theories. Here, we start from the recent understanding of neural networks, which considers their internal functioning and the learning that characterizes them as based on adapted representations (both of the information to be processed and of (...) the task to be performed) that are in fact optimal compressions. Compression means discriminating the similar and the different between cases by identifying representative characteristics through focusing on the most significant and rejecting of the rest. These three operations of neural processing, learning and compression owe their existence to non-linear treatments which essentially amount to distinguishing a neutral zone between two filtered zones, corresponding to the neutrosophical approach. (shrink)

Peut-on définir un "sens" musical? Quelle est la part d'intuition, de spontanéité, et celle de la technique, des règles, des systèmes dans la création? Pionnier de la musique électroacoustique en temps réel, Philippe Manoury nous fait entrer au coeur du processus de composition, montrant par exemple comment faire interagir les techniques numériques et les instruments acoustiques (y compris la voix) pour créer de nouvelles formes musicales et interroger sans cesse la matière sonore elle-même."--Page 4 of cover.

Die vorliegende Studie ist die erste umfassende Darstellung, die Kierkegaards Verfahren einer indirekten Mitteilung als hermeneutischen Schl ssel zu seinem Gesamtwerk entfaltet. Erkenntnisleitend ist das philosophische Interesse, die indirekte Mitteilung als Kierkegaards denkerische Methode und als das bestimmende Strukturprinzip seiner Existenzphilosophie zu begreifen. Indirekte Mitteilung meint nicht blo eine u erliche Form maieutischer und existenzieller Kommunikation, sie ist vielmehr zugleich eine Theorie ber die Grenze von Sprache und Begriff. Zudem ist die perspektivisch gebrochene, experimentalphilosophische Methode ein Gegenentwurf zur geschlossenen Form (...) des Systems. Hierin zeigt sich Kierkegaards geschichtliche Zwischenstellung in der Umbruchskonstellation von Idealismus und Moderne: Er st t sich im Ganzen vom Systemdenken Schellings und Hegels ab und weist voraus auf die Experimentalphilosophie Nietzsches und das Differenzdenken Derridas. Die Studie ist in dreierlei Hinsicht strukturiert: Systematisch wird die indirekte Methode als ein gegen sich selbst arbeitendes, prinzipiell unabgeschlossenes Verfahren bestimmt; geschichtlich wird sie vor dem Hintergrund der Tradition der Ironie und weiterer paradoxaler Begriffskonstellationen entfaltet; werkgeschichtlich-exegetisch werden Kierkegaards weit verzweigte Reflexionen ber den Begriff der indirekten Methode rekonstruiert, ihre Praxis und Durchf hrung anhand ausgew hlter Werke exemplarisch herausgearbeitet. (shrink)

This is the outline : I - Quelques étapes aux avancées significatives II - La pensée chrétienne et le hasard d’ignorance III - De quelques difficultés de raisonner sur le probable IV - Téléologie et évolutionnisme V - Où est l’« étage » qui permette de parler d’indépendance ? VI. Qu’y a-t-il à la base de nos concepts d’ordre ? VII - Quelle place pour le hasard ? VIII. Le hasard appréhendé de dos ?

In a famous manuscript addition of the Exemplaire de Bordeaux des Essaisand while he has abandoned all public ambition, Montaigne declares without appeal, "I am not a philosopher." At the same time, however, he presents himself as a new philosopher, even as a dissident in the history of philosophy: "New figure: a philosopher unpremeditated and fortuitous! Who can believe between these two Montaigne? This hesitation is symptomatic of a tormented philosophical posterity. Sometimes regarded as a full-fledged philosopher - the forerunner (...) of modernity - and sometimes as a disorganized or even incoherent thinker, Montaigne enjoyed a reception that was far from being a long calm river. This volume is specifically intended to trace the "philosophical uses" of Montaigne throughout the centuries--Translation of page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) à travers son itinéraire semé d'embûches, a dû affronter l'arrivée au pouvoir des nazis. Amené à sillonner l'Europe il développe une activité de critique littéraire et une philosophie de l'histoire, notamment dans ses ultimes « thèses » de 1940. Ce testament philosophique est influencé par le messianisme juif et le marxisme. Décrit comme sentinelle messianique, l'œuvre de Walter Benjamin se déploie aux confins de la sociologie, de l'esthétique et de la théologie. Sa philosophie de l'histoire contraste avec (...) celle de Nietzsche, mais le rapproche de Simone Weil. Analyste privilégié des tourments de l'Europe, il participera indirectement à l'Ecole de Francfort. (shrink)

Wat dacht Nietzsche, die niet bepaald positief stond ten opzichte van het christendom, eigenlijk over Jezus? Er wordt immers wel beweerd dat je, wat je verder ook van het christendom denkt, onmogelijk tegen Jezus kunt zijn. In zijn vroege werk noemt Nietzsche hem inderdaad 'de edelste mens'. Maar later heeft hij het over 'een grote egoïst' en in 'Der Antichrist' zegt hij zelfs dat Jezus 'een idioot' was. Wat betekent dat allemaal precies binnen het denken van een filosoof die vaak (...) niet rechtstreeks zegt wat hij eigenlijk bedoelt? Kunnen deze gedachten voor ons vandaag nog iets betekenen? Lepers heeft het volledige oeuvre van Nietzsche onderzocht op uitspraken en beschouwingen over en rond de figuur van Jezus. Dat voert hem tot genuanceerde, soms (schijnbaar?) tegenstrijdige, maar altijd uitdagende antwoorden op de vraag wie en wat Jezus in Nietzsches ogen was en wat hij vanuit dat perspectief voor ons zou kunnen zijn. (shrink)

"Si la souffrance semble être l'existential majeur qui domine l'oeuvre de Bernanos, c'est parce qu'elle permet la révélation d'une expérience fondamentale : l'homme habite le monde parce qu'il y tombe. Dans cette chaotisation de l'espace et du temps qu'est la chute se dit en effet la constitution même de l'être comme corps. Ainsi l'écrivain ne nous donne-t-il à voir l'écroulement que pour nous conduire aussi à le vivre comme dimension de l'être-là de ce que nous sommes - non pas en (...) luttant contre lui, mais en nous laissant rouler en lui comme en une vague. Nul n'a son corps. Nul n'est son corps. C'est à se tenir à la frontière, ou à accepter de tomber sans trop immédiatement se relever, que la philosophie pourra donc sans doute repenser le sens de l'inhabitation du corps, voire de l'inhabitation de l'homme même par Dieu."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Le libertinage n'est pas circonscrit à un groupe social uniforme, classe d'âge, catégorie socioprofessionnelle, famille philosophique. Il ne forme pas davantage un isolat culturel. Dans la diversité même de ses manifestations, il illustre la variété des situations et des rôles que l'individu peut souhaiter expérimenter dans une vision dynamique, vitaliste, de sa sexualité. Les présents fragments visent moins à établir un catalogue exhaustif des possibles de la performance libertine qu'à apporter quelques éléments de réflexion sur ce qui s'y joue sur (...) les plans relationnel et émotionnel. Ils interrogent une réalité formalisable en de nombreux de ses aspects et tentent d'approcher ce qui se dit à travers elle de l'humaine capacité à acter le désir sexuel comme forme créative."--From publisher's website. (shrink)

La conscience ne nous est pas donnée a priori : il nous revient de l'édifier en nous. Descartes, Kant et Fichte ont tracé le chemin. Mais les penseurs aujourd'hui affirment qu'il n'est rien en nous au-delà du visible, de l'évident. La recherche de l'humain en nous est rejetée comme métaphysique voire subversif de l'ordre. Cet ordre marchand est celui de la valeur, notre seule mesure.

This paper investigates the degree to which information theory, and the derived uses that make it work as a metaphor of our age, can be helpful in thinking about God’s immanence and transcendance. We ask when it is possible to say that a consciousness has to be behind the information we encounter. If God is to be thought about as a communicator of information, we need to ask whether a communication system has to pre-exist to the divine and impose itself (...) to God. If we want God to be Creator, and not someone who would work like a human being, ‘creating’ will mean sustaining in being as much the channel, the material system, as the message. Is information control? It seems that God’s actions are not going to be informational control of everything. To clarify the issue, we attempt to distinguish two kinds of ‘genialities’ in nature, as a way to evaluate the likelihood of God from nature. We investigate concepts and images of God, in terms of the history of ideas but also in terms of philosophical theology, metaphysics, and religious ontology. (shrink)